5 Things Parents Can Do to Teach Their Kids Vocabulary
5 Things Parents Can Do to Teach Their Kids Vocabulary
Let’s take a look at 5 things parents can do to teach their kids vocabulary.
1) Use a bigger vocabulary.
A recent study on the EZ School website says that children within a professional, higher income home are likely to have a larger vocabulary compared to kids from lower and middle class homes where higher education levels may not be as prevalent.
This study and others show that the parent’s usage of words has a big impact on a child’s vocabulary. Even if a child doesn’t understand certain words completely, parents should still use them from time to time.
2) Don’t talk down to your kids.
Because kids understand more than what they repeat, parents aren’t optimizing their learning capabilities when they talk down to them, such as using baby talk. By virtue of not doing this, you will be helping them a lot.
3) Play games.
Games like Scrabble and crossword puzzles can greatly assist in enhancing a children’s vocabulary, says the Read2Dream website.
4) Live your life out loud.
The article “9 Smart Ways to Help Build Your Child’s Vocabulary” says providing a play-by-play of what’s going on in your life is how parents help their kids interpret the world and adds new words related to geography, weather and experiences to their list.
5) Reading to your child.
Not surprisingly, reading is one of the best ways to increase a child’s vocabulary, along with giving him or her a possibly, great hobby that will last a lifetime. The EZ School site says that it can be even more beneficial for parents to read out loud with their kids.
Establishing a reading routine is just as important for bilingual families, if not more so. The research shows that in order to maximizing learning English that ESL kids should definitely be using their native language at home. The Latino Family Literacy Project is one of the best programs out there for guiding and supporting parents with a bilingual reading routine. Teachers can attend a one-day program training at a workshop near them or via an online webinar.